Range of Fibaro Wall Plug

baboonen

All,

I bought a Fibaro wall plug this week and was aware of the range (in home 40m / outside 50m). I've tested it on close range and it works perfectly. Unfortunately when I put this wall plug approx. 10 meters ahead in my shed, it doesn't work anymore. The only thing between homey and the wall plug is my fridge. 

Please advise!

Thanks in advance.

Regards Bobby

GeurtDijker

Did you try to put it on another place with clear line of sight? what distance can you reach then?

RuudvB

Is this the only grid powered z-wave device you are using? If so, in my experience the range is quite limited. Using more grid powered devices will enable a mesh to be built, the range is then MUCH improved.

baboonen

@GeurtDijker ;I didn't yet

@RuudvB No this is the only grid powered z-wave device. I'm willing to buy another if it helps. But will it help since I only need 1 wall plug in my shed and the nearest device is homey? 

baboonen

Just tested it in clear line of sight: only 9 meters. That's way too short of a distance... I need at least 5 meters extra...

Is it a homey-problem? If I buy another wall plug and plug it in near homey. Should that reach the 11 meters (when homey has been put next to my window)?

baboonen

Just found this KB: https://www.athom.com/en/support/KB000043/

But I'd wish it would be 40 meters. I'd wish it would be 15! So how is this z-wave range independently tested? Vacuum??

bvdbos

There can be lots of external factors determinig your range sio don't know why at your place it's less then 10 meters. Some more explanations on:
https://blog.athom.com/2016/08/07/making-rf-work-433-868-mhz-homey/

baboonen

Thanks @bvdbos This unfortunately didn't provided the answer I was looking for

RDtimmer

I recognize this, because I was feeling the same when starting with Z-wave devices.
Testing must have been done in a vacuum without interference from Wifi,4G or other radio signals...

To get around the issue I have installed Popp Z-wave smoke-detectors which operate as repeater(connected to 220V mains).
Hope this helps(somewhat)

RuudvB

baboonen said:

@GeurtDijker ;I didn't yet

@RuudvB No this is the only grid powered z-wave device. I'm willing to buy another if it helps. But will it help since I only need 1 wall plug in my shed and the nearest device is homey? 

Yes, almost certain. I had similar issues. When expanding the mesh, the results are MUCH better.
One of the things I did was placing a NEO plug on the power supply of my carport IP camera. I killed two bugs with one stone:
1. I can reset the camera via homey or manual although the power unit is built-in the ceiling
2. My z-wave mesh greatly expanded and all my range issues disappeared.

baboonen

Thanks @RuudvB I will update this thread when I get permission to buy another z-wave device ;-)

baboonen

Well I got permission an bought another wall plug. This worked perfectly until yesterday or the day before yesterday. If I check the range on the wall plug it changes from yellow to green and then turns red.

Does anybody have an idea how this is possible? Perhaps a Fibaro issue? I noticed there was a Fibaro app update yesterday. Below you will find the network graph.

Please advise.

Regards Bobby

bvdbos

Is one of these the plug?

TedTolboom

Does it still work (switch on and off) / updates it's data (power usage)?

Mathijs

baboonen said:

Just tested it in clear line of sight: only 9 meters. That's way too short of a distance... I need at least 5 meters extra...

Is it a homey-problem? If I buy another wall plug and plug it in near homey. Should that reach the 11 meters (when homey has been put next to my window)?

Unfortunately yes. Using a Fibaro hub you will get at least 20 meters in line of sight, in a clean radio frequency environment even more. When you are 'in' the mesh network, the Fibaro wall plug will be able to connect to another wall plug over around 12 meter of clear line of sight. But that assumes no radio interference and unfortunately a lot of devices you will plug into those wall plugs will make some. Cheap LED lights etc, but also expensive stuff can cause problems.

Basically you should NOT assume any zwave mesh to reach more than 8 meters in a normal house. Heavy walls can reduce that to much less. It takes a lot of wall plugs to mesh up large house, but it normally when it works it is reliable. 

I have the Homey plugged into the 240 volt with a Fibaro wall plug. It's silly but for me it is the only way to reach the rest of the house. I fear there are fundamental problems with the Homey radios that will not be solved with software. we can only hope for a V2 version (and some discount).

baboonen

Thanks all.

What I don't understand: it worked for a whole week. What happened that it doesn't work anymore? It doesn't make sense to me.

Mathijs

If your reception was touch and go to start with even the weather starts to play a role. Moving a bit of furniture could soak up some more signal....

baboonen

I still don't understand how it worked and suddenly stopped working. My 1st wall plug is 10 cm from my outer wall, so no furniture etc. The other wall plug is in a wooden shed, approx 8 meters ahead. 

It worked before and suddenly stopped working. I didn't change anything.

Please advise

Mathijs

I would remove them and add them again.

Undertaker

I have a suspicion that Homey has a bug in the firmware or in the Fibaro app. Two of my Wallplugs say goodbye. By restarting, they work a few minutes, then do not react again. Deleting and re-pairing brought nothing. Two plugs begun before the update do not show this behavior. All plugs are the Zwave plus version.

bvdbos

What does your log say (settings-zwave-stuff for geeks)?

Undertaker

I believe I have identified the cause. I have observed several times that the memory was completely exhausted. As soon as this happens, there is probably a buffer overflow. I have now deleted all unnecessary apps to get some memory free. On my sorage is place without end. Is there any way to outsource memory to the storage? If I think of what Homey would like to integrate in the future, we will get a real problem with the working memory. Since I have made some memory free, my Wallplugs can be switched again. It bothers me very much, however, that I can not install new apps without having to worry about a memory overflow again. I will observe, o my presumption is confirmed for a longer term.

Undertaker

Undertaker

Log:  E4B5633588
Please fix it.

TedTolboom

@Undertaker one of the developers of Athom will need to take a look into this issue. Could you create an Github issue at https://github.com/athombv/homey/issues for this, with above mentioned information?

much appreciated!

bvdbos

Also, about free memory, that's the way Linux works... http://www.linuxatemyram.com/
But still, please file an issue...

baboonen

An update from my side: I've unplugged the wall plug and plugged it in an extension cord. And suddenly it works again. The range even works a few meters further. 

But I also deleted some apps and restarted Homey. So there's a possibility of the same root cause as @Undertaker experiences. 

@Undertaker: could you please file an issue?

Thanks all

Undertaker

The problem was reported. Should someone have similar problems, I ask for your message.

Undertaker

Undertaker said:

The problem was reported. Should someone have similar
 problems, I ask for your message.